Meet the Disabled Nurses Who Turned Doubt Into Power
While nursing is often celebrated as a profession rooted in compassion, that spirit of care doesn’t always reach everyone in the field equally. In a recent episode of the Nurse Converse podcast, Dr. Tina Loarte-Rodriguez sat down with Dr. Sabrina Ali Jamal-Eddine and Andrea Dalzell to explore what it means to navigate nursing as disabled professionals. Their powerful personal stories shed light on the structural barriers, deep-rooted biases, and everyday challenges that continue to shape the experiences of disabled nurses and call for a more inclusive and human-centered future in healthcare.
Personal Journeys Shaped by Disability
Dalzell and Jamal-Eddine share their lived experiences, which vividly illustrate the challenges that people with disabilities face in the nursing field.
Dalzell Receives 76 Clinical Rejections
Andrea Dalzell, widely known as the “Seated Nurse,” became a wheelchair user after being diagnosed with transverse myelitis. Initially aspiring to become a lawyer, she turned to nursing as a way to challenge the limitations she saw in healthcare. Her path was paved with obstacles, including 76 clinical rejections before finally securing a placement, ultimately becoming the first nurse in New York State to graduate nursing school in a wheelchair.
Nursing Program Doubts Jamal-Eddine’s Abilities
Dr. Jamal-Eddine’s journey was similarly marked by institutional barriers. Born with a congenital connective tissue disorder and having undergone multiple spinal surgeries, she was met with doubt and resistance in her nursing program. Rather than offering necessary accommodations, the school asked her to produce a letter from her surgeon just to remain in the program.
Her story demonstrates how disabled students are often forced to prove their worth in ways their non-disabled peers are not. These experiences have informed her work as both a nurse and a scholar focused on dismantling ableism in nursing education.
The Trauma of Ableism in Healthcare
Ableism in nursing doesn't just create professional barriers—it causes deep emotional and psychological harm. Dr. Jamal-Eddine highlighted the contradiction at the heart of the profession: a field dedicated to healing should not inflict harm on those who want to join its ranks. Being treated as less capable because of a disability adds layers of trauma for aspiring nurses who are already navigating health challenges of their own.
Dalzell added that the healthcare system often produces harm by design. Instead of adapting to include disabled professionals, it expects them to fit into inflexible molds. She stressed that healthcare environments should be prepared to support everyone, including those who deliver care, not just those who receive it.
A Shift Toward Empathy and Humanization
Both speakers called for a transformation in how nurses are trained—not just in clinical skills, but in empathy and human connection. Dr. Jamal-Eddine criticized traditional diversity and inclusion trainings as often performative, offering little real change. Instead, she advocates for education that integrates storytelling, art, and personal experience as vital tools to cultivate empathy and shift mindsets.
Empathy in nursing is not just a desirable trait; it is foundational to providing care that is compassionate, respectful, and effective. Recognizing patients—and colleagues—as whole people is essential to dismantling harmful norms and creating supportive environments for all.
Systemic Change Is Non-Negotiable
The speakers laid out several clear and actionable priorities to advance equity in nursing:
- Commit to Accessibility: Nursing programs and healthcare institutions must embed accessibility into every level of design, from physical infrastructure to curriculum and staffing models.
- Adopt Universal Design: Institutions should implement inclusive policies that anticipate and accommodate a wide range of needs without requiring individual exceptions.
- Innovate, Don’t Exclude: Disability should be approached as a driver for innovation. Adaptive technologies and alternative approaches to care can expand what’s possible in nursing.
- Prioritize Representation: Hiring practices must reflect the diversity of the communities served, including people with disabilities across all roles and leadership levels.
- Invest in Continuous Learning: Nurses should seek out literature, media, and research created by people with disabilities to deepen their understanding and empathy.
- Advocate for Justice: Beyond legal compliance, nurses must actively work to eliminate the root causes of inequity in healthcare and education systems.
Reframing How Disability Is Perceived
Disability must no longer be viewed through a lens of limitation. When disability is framed solely as a deficit, institutions and individuals miss the opportunity to embrace a fuller understanding of human variation.
Nurses with disabilities bring unique strengths, insights, and approaches that enhance the profession as a whole. Shifting the narrative toward capability, adaptability, and innovation opens up space for a more inclusive future, not only for healthcare workers with disabilities but for the patients they serve.
The profession must reject outdated notions that certain bodies are inherently more “fit” for nursing than others. All bodies—and all experiences—have value. By changing the way disability is seen and understood, the nursing community can redefine what care, compassion, and capability truly mean.
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